Five Times the Doctor Saw Merlin and One That Was the Last
by Aranel-o-Aduial
Summary: Jethro was familiar, and the Doctor knew that he'd seen him before, but with how he zooms all around time how could he? A story of Merlin and the Doctor interrupting his long wait. No pairings.


**Hey, Whovians and Merlin fans. This is the obvious crossover between your worlds. Just so you know, I wrote this a long time ago right after I saw the second season, and I'm still only up to the fifth, as I only get Netflix every summer, so your complaining about this being wrong might be in the right, but it's not a nice thing to do. I'm just posting it because I reread it and liked it. If you don't like it, that's your problem.**

**I am working on Wizards and Warlocks, I promise. And Of Mercy, too!**

**This is accidentally a five and one thing. I don't even know how that happened.**

**As always, though, I hope that you enjoy!**

* * *

Midnight was the first time that he noticed, but the Doctor was _pretty _sure he had seen Jethro before.

And when he says before, he doesn't mean _a month ago, _before, he means _a hundred years ago,_ before.

And the Doctor has an _excellent _memory, so when he says he's seen Jethro before, you can be _pretty damn sure_ he's seen Jethro before.

Of course, the Doctor would be mad if he believed that he'd seen Jethro a hundred years ago, and the Doctor was only _a bit _mad, so he made sure it was just a thought.

A thought which he only voiced _part of._

It was about 125 kliks into the journey when everybody else was talking to each other that the Doctor finally got a chance to talk to Jethro, and he made sure he started out the conversation as easily as possible and didn't ask the question nagging him until much later.

"So," he started, "Enjoying the journey?"

"Eh, it's a good break from a long wait," answered Jethro without really thinking, his mind obviously wandering, and the Doctor raised an eyebrow.

"_A long wait?"_ he repeated, and Jethro seemed to snap out of his thoughts, his eyes clearing at a rather alarming rate.

"Oh- yeah- summer vacation, you know? I've always found it kind of boring," he explained. the Doctor went over the facts in his mind, and he found that he was pretty dang sure summer vacation still existed in the 27th century.

Something still didn't line up, though, and the Doctor found himself contemplative as he answered, "I thought somebody like you would _enjoy _summer vacation."

Jethro just laughed about that, though there was a tinge of nervousness to it. "Oh, and you know _so much _about me, right?" he said, and the Doctor shook his head quickly.

"Ah, no, I just assumed-"

"Right," interrupted Jethro, rolling his eyes and walking away.

Of course, this comment was probably why Jethro sided against the Doctor in the end.

* * *

Fortunately, Jethro seemed to forgive him for his comment, as he apologized after the whole affair.

"Hey, Doctor," he called as said Doctor headed back to the TARDIS, and the Doctor turned around to look at him in surprise.

"Listen, I'm sorry about the whole-"

"It's _fine_," the Doctor interrupted, "I suppose I deserved it, the way I assumed..." he made a wild gesture with his hands, "...stuff," he finished awkwardly.

Jethro laughed, "It's forgotten. I suppose I don't really emit an aura of learning."

The Doctor shook his head, "Ah, no," he said, and Jethro laughed again and walked off. The Doctor wondered how he was taking the whole affair so well, then decided that he was a teenager.

Boy, was he wrong.

The Doctor only realized that he didn't get to ask his question once he was inside the TARDIS.

* * *

The next time he saw Jethro was in the twenty-first century, and the Doctor was _pretty_ sure that he wasn't mad by saying that now.

Unfortunately, Jethro noticed him staring and gaping, and stared right back.

"...Is there a problem?" he eventually asked once the Doctor's staring started to creep him out.

"Uh, _no, _sorry for bothering you," said the Doctor, starting to walk away, then turning mid-step and staring at him again.

"_Jethro?"_ he asked incredulously, and Jethro frowned.

"Uh, _no,_ it's _Myron_," said Jethro, and the Doctor nodded slowly, just realizing that Jethro wouldn't _know_ him in the twenty-first century.

"_Right,_" he said, and then started to walk off again, pondering about Jack Harkness and how humans could become immortal.

He barely heard _'Myron'_ say, "...I might use that," as he walked away.

* * *

The Doctor vaguely remembered seeing Jethro when he showed Rose the end of the world, with his hand around a blonde man's shoulder. The blonde man had a broken expression on his face, and looked beyond tears.

"It's okay, Arthur," said Jethro to the man, "We can _rebuild_."

Arthur shook his head.

"We can rebuild the _cities,_" he said, "But the _legacy _is gone."

The Doctor then found himself pondering how he had forgotten this, and had a brief vision of glowing golden eyes.

* * *

The next time the Doctor saw Jethro, it was the seventh century, under the rule of Queen Guinevere, with her famous court sorcerer _Merlin_.

He got in the TARDIS with Donna and left, knowing that he could do nothing to stop Camelot's fall.

Donna cried.

* * *

Then the Doctor ended up going back to New New York, and for some reason, it was absolutely peaceful. No hostile aliens, no experiments, no highway, just Jethro, sitting on a balcony and overlooking the city. The Doctor will never know why the TARDIS brought him to Jethro's apartment, but he was glad it did.

"So, here I am," said Jethro as the Doctor approached him, "Back to my wait. Arthur was no help last time, you know."

The Doctor leaned up against the balcony next to him and shrugged. "It was a plague. No human could survive it. Which just proves you're not human."

Jethro laughed bitterly, "Well, you probably figured that out a long time ago," he said, and the Doctor shook his head.

"No, actually, I didn't know you lived through it until now," said the Doctor, and Jethro grinned.

"Getting kind of hard to kill me anymore," he said, then sighed. "The waiting's awful."

The Doctor turned to look at him as he said, "Well, I'm sure Arthur'll come back soon. This peace can't last."

Jethro laughed again, "And I suppose you'll be there, won't you?"

The Doctor grinned, "Wouldn't miss it for the world," he said. Jethro chuckled.

There was a silence, and then Jethro said, "I think... the next time will be the last time," and he looked so old in that moment that the Doctor's bones ached.

"Really?"

Jethro nodded, "Yeah, I can feel it," he said, then sighed, "It's a relief."

The Doctor smiled, and then looked over the city again. "I'm happy for you."

Jethro smiled back, "I hope it ends for you eventually, Doctor. You may take the short route, but it's hurting you more than it hurts me."

"I'm not sure about that," said the Doctor, looking at Merlin again.

Jethro laughed bitterly, "Oh, believe me, I know," he said. There was another pause.

"You should go," he said eventually, "There's nothing here for you."

The Doctor nodded and stood up.

"Well," he said, "Back to my shortcuts, then."

Jethro just nodded, and the Doctor turned to go.

"Goodbye, Merlin," said the Doctor.

"Goodbye, Doctor."

* * *

The next time the Doctor saw Merlin, it was the last.


End file.
